Of Guns and Guitars
by Rosethorn2
Summary: Problem: Unrequited love. Perscription? Take with water, one Nakano Hiroshi, Crawd Winchester, one part drama, two parts romance, smidgen of angst, some humor, and an annoying subconscious. Repeat for maximum effect. *Under rewrite*
1. A NotsoFun Sunday Night

**Notes: **I started this one day after reading a "K/Hiiro" pairing story. I decided I liked the pairing, so I wrote a story of my own. I have some of it done and hope to not only finish this, but every OTHER blasted story I'm working on! Now for the fun stuff *groan*

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Gravi. I never have, I never will. Also, this is shounen ai (although, since it's Gravi, I shouldn't need to state that…*sweatdrops*), if you have a problem with it, don't read the story. And by all means, DON'T watch Gravi!!

Of Guns and Guitars

By Rosethorn

A Not-so-Fun Sunday Night

            Crawd Winchester was drunk. He decided to test that revelation by getting up to put the sake (what little there was _left_ of it), away. No sooner did he stand up then the room began to spin around his fogged head. He decided to sit down instead of falling down, which was his only other option.

            Morosely, he stared at his glass of sake as if willing it to help his problems. The glass just sat there, staring at him. Succumbing to the inevitable, Crawd hung his head and decided to reflect on what had gotten him _into_ this mess.

            It had been a few months since Tohma had called or wrote him last while he was at home with his "charge" Ryuichi, who loved America as much as Japan.

_            The call had come to his cell when he and Ryuichi were taking Crawd's son Michael to the park._

_            "K here."_

_            "K-san, how are you and Ryuichi-san doing?"_

_            "Fine. Michaels's teaching Ryuichi football right now." There was a long pause. "Tohma?"_

_            "Football? Ryuichi-san has always been good at football—wait. Do you mean 'American football'?"_

_            "Yes. Sorry for the confusion." Tohma merely chuckled softly._

_            "As much as I would like to hear of Ryuichi-san's progress, I have some serious matters to discuss." Crawd, known as "Mr. K" or "K-san" to his employers and charges, detected a note of disdain in Tohma's voice. It sounded as though Tohma would _much_ rather talk about football._

_            "All ears."_

            "I realize that you and Ryuichi-san were not supposed to come back until next year but…I have a job here for you, K-san. A new band."

            That conversation led to the hilarious meeting with the new band known as "Bad Luck"…

            "FREEZE!!" Crawd yelled as he booted in the rehearsal room door, gun safely in hand. "This is a hold up!"

_            The band was the perfect portrayal of the word "shocked". If Crawd had not had to keep them in suspense, he would have fallen on the floor laughing. Instead, he proceeded to instruct the band members to go to a van that was waiting for them outside. Three sets of eyes stared at him. One set in particular caught his attention: the eyes of Nakano Hiiroshi, the guitarist of Bad Luck._

_            Hiiroshi, or simply "Hiiro" to his friends, was tall (no where near Crawd's height, but tall nonetheless), with waist-length brown hair. A closer look revealed the hair to have red streaks through it. Crawd's further perusal of Hiiro's hair made him notice Hiiro's trim waist._

_            'God!' Crawd moaned inwardly as Bad Luck filed out of the studio and down to the van. 'I'm married, have a five-year-old son, and am drooling over a kid in _his_ early twenties! Someone up there must really like me or really hate me.' With a long-suffering sigh, he turned and followed the band to the van, plastering a huge smile on his face._

            "That should've been my first clue," Crawd muttered to himself. It had been two months since that first meeting with Bad Luck, and Crawd felt like he had been through hell. For example: every time Shuichi would start his "Yuki speeches", both Hiiro and Crawd died a bit inside; Hiiro because he still wasn't over Shuichi, and it showed, Crawd because Hiiro wasn't over Shuichi.

            "God, you would think I was sixteen again with my first crush!" He stared at the alcohol bottle again darkly. "Hell, tomorrow is going to be such a bitch," he groaned. He gave up on being able to move to his bed, so he contented himself by trying to sleep as best he could on the couch.

~~ooO@Ooo~~

That be all for now, minna! I should have more typed up soon! Please let me know what you guys think!!

~Rosethorn~


	2. The Morning After

**Notes: **Ok. Here's chapter 2. I decided to get it done A.S.A.P. for y'all, so enjoy!! Read the first chapter for the disclaimer and all that sketi. Also, I'm not trying to portray Shuichi as an annoying airhead; please let me know if he's coming across that way. I like Shuichi!!

Of Guns and Guitars

By Rosethorn

The Morning After

            'Shit!' Crawd moaned as he opened his eyes. Light poured into the large living room from the main window. He glared at the offending window before glancing at his clock.

            "Dammit!" he cursed, seeing that he was running late. He hurriedly stumbled into his room, and within five minutes, was dressed.

            On the way to the studio, Crawd stopped for a cup of very black and very _strong_ coffee.

            'God! Remind me never to get hung over on a work day again!' He plastered a smile on his face as he walked through the main entrance of the studio.

            "Ohaiyo gozaimasu, K-san." Crawd looked over to see Fujisaki Suguru also walking into the studio entrance.

            "Ohaiyo," K replied. They proceed to the practice room together, neither saying one word.

            "Ohaaaiiiiiyoooooo!!!!" a very hyper and very _loud_ Shindou Shuichi greeted them. Crawd winced inwardly.

            "Shindou-san," Crawd acknowledged. Shuichi continued to chatter and, even though he was twitching his trigger finger, Crawd managed _not_ to kill his charge.

            "Shuichi!" Crawd's heart beat faster as the third member of "Bad Luck" entered. "Shut up! You're giving all of us headaches!"

            "Mou, Hiiiiroooo!" Shuichi whined good-naturedly. Crawd turned to greet the guitarist and then saw what Hiiro was wearing…

            'Good God! He does this to torture me, I just know it!' (AN: More like the authoress torturing him…he he…)

            Hiiro was dressed in an outfit that would cause most girls (and many guys), to jump him. His black top clung to every muscle, leaving no doubt in Crawd's mind that the guitarist frequented the gyms in his spare time. And the pants! They looked as though someone sewed them to onto the upper portions of Hiiro's legs, only to have them bell out slightly at the bottom. Crawd firmly pushed his over-heated brain _away_ from the sight, and what things he could do to Hiiro in those clothes…

            "Ohaiyo gozaimasu, Nakano-san." His greeting seemed to catch Hiiro by surprise, as Hiiro stuttered out a brief "ohaiyo".

            "Mou, Hiiro! I wrote a new guitar line; come over here and let me know what you think!" Hiiro nodded and proceeded to kneel and open his guitar case. One of his picks decided to be difficult however, and flew out of Hiiro's hand over to the other side of the case. Hiiro bent over to retrieve the pick. It proved to be elusive however and left Hiiro still on his hands and knees searching.

            Poor Crawd had observed the whole scene and was now in a very…"uncomfortable" position. Making his excuses, he deliberately walks to the door, but not before hearing Hiiro's "aha!" and seeing Hiiro's face red from being bent over. Crawd decided, for the sake of his sanity, he'd best leave…_now_.

~~ooO@Ooo~~

*Shudders* Every time I hear someone "yell" in a story the name "Hiiro" or "Heero", it sends shivers of dread up my spine. Anyone who's seen Gundam Wing will know _exactly_ what I'm talking about. *Shudders again* Evil Relena. Anyways, that's all for now!! More later! Merry Christmas to all!

Now for one of my favorite parts (seriously!!!), the "thank you's":

Rika-chan: Thanks for reviewing!! I love KxHiiro too…but there _isn't_ enough of them! Well…at least there's one more now, ne?

PetraFina: I'm glad you like it! Thanks for reviewing!! K/Hiiro does rule!! Drunk Crawd=brawler…you notice I _didn't_ have his gun in that scene…think where we would be then…*sweatdrops*

Sachiko: Well…something dramatic for Crawd happened…w Thanks for reviewing!!

Thanks for reviewing all of you guys!! That really helps me keep my spirits up!


	3. Vocals

**Notes:** All right. Here's the third installation! Sorry this took so long, minna! I had God-awful writer's block and the block suddenly lifted last night and now I have this chapter done and about half of another one! YAY!!

Of Guns and Guitars

Vocals

            If any of the members of "Bad Luck" found his departure odd, it didn't show. Hiiro had gotten his guitar tuned and was working on the new song Shuichi had composed. He would pause every so often to adjust a chord that didn't sound right. About an hour later, he nodded to Shuichi and began to play again. Shuichi joined in with the vocals. Crawd found himself carried away by the beautiful melody, but something was out of place. As the song finished, Shuichi voiced the same thoughts.

            "Maa…something doesn't sound right." Hiiro and Suguru stared at him, while Crawd came to the realization of:

            "The vocals." Three sets of eyes; one confused, one blank of all expression, and one with comprehension dawning.

            "Yeah! The voice needs to be pitched lower!" Shuichi said, hurrying over to the sheet music. "Demo," he paused, looking up. "we don't have any tenors besides…Hiiro! You sing it!" Hiiro's eyes widen at the thought.

            "No," he states firmly. Shuichi gave him a glare.

            "Yes!" Hiiro's glare darkened.

            "No!"

            "Pleeeeeaaaase?!"

            "…All right…" Hiiro acquiesced, and was soon glomped by Shuichi. He gave a half-hearted protest, but gave up. Shuichi finally let go and Hiiro picked up his guitar.

            "Toumei ga yozora somete…" Crawd's jaw just about hit the floor.

            'He's _good_! He'd do just as well as Shuichi with the right songs!' Crawd began to relax and just let the music wash over him. It ended too quickly for his comfort and Crawd opened his eyes. He bit back laughter at the look on Suguru's face.

            "Nakano-san! That was perfect! We won't even need my keyboards!"

            "…isn't right…" Shuichi muttered absently. Hiiro looked at him.

            "What, Shuichi?"

            "Something isn't quite right…The voice still! It should be a little deeper with Hiiro doing harmony!"

            "Demo…no one we know has a deeper voice, Shindou-san!" Suguru said, starting to get irritated with Shuichi. Crawd thought that right now would be a good time to stay silent. The battle between singer and keyboardist escalated and both Hiiro and Crawd were starting to get annoyed.

            "Enough!" Crawd yelled in English, only to realize Hiiro had yelled the same thing in Japanese—at the same time. They look at each other and grin.

            "That's it! K! You'd be perfect for the vocals!" Shuichi yelled. Crawd glared.

            "No way in hell." Shuichi stared at him blankly although Hiiro was cracking up.

            "K-san, Shuichi doesn't know enough English to translate that," he said in English. Crawd mentally smacked his forehead. He then repeated his previous statement in Japanese. Shuichi's reaction was only to pout and pull those teary puppy-dog eyes that only Shuichi could pull so well. Crawd's glare intensified.

            "No." Shuichi pouted and then switched to the tear tactic.

            'Thank God for having a five-year-old son,' Crawd thought to himself.

            "NO."

            "K-san," Hiiro intervened. "It wouldn't hurt to just test ne?" Crawd sighed.

            'Damn crush.'

            "…Fine. But only to help you guys get a fell for the sound. That's _it_!"

~~ooO@Ooo~~

I would like to personally dedicate this my friend and critic Lena. Lena, you're keeping me going, girl! Now for the rest of the thank-you's:

Sachiko: Thanks for sticking with me! Merry (very) belated Christmas! Hope this meets your expectations!

Eriol-sama: Thanks! I'm glad you enjoy this fic! I will try to keep this story going…

Rika-chan: Thanks again! K-torture is fun…as long as it isn't angsty K torture! As for if Hiiro's doing it on purpose…you'll see ^_~

SweetasStrychnine: Thanks! Glad you're enjoying it so far! I love K/Hiiro fics, but other pairings are good too…

Tiger Moonstorme: Thanks! I'm hoping to update again in the next few days, so…*blush* Glad you like the fic.

Toriko: Thanks! Don't imagine too far ahead ^_~ Like I said earlier, I'll be updating (hopefully) tomorrow or the next day. This weekend at the latest.


	4. Dizzy

**Notes:** *smacks head against a wall* I can't believe I haven't updated for so friggin' long…Once again, reality set in, and between stressing, finals, and school in general, the fic got lost in the shuffle! I'm so pathetic…anyways, here's the next installment!! (Oh! And for your amusement, I have one of the many battles with "it" *wink*)

Of Guns and Guitars

Dizzy

            Hiiro watched with amusement as K battled Shuichi about singing the vocals. He could agree with K's stand on the whole situation, but just the same…he wanted to hear K sing.

            'Che, you just want an excuse to stare at him,' his inner voice said derisively. Hirro mentally glared at "it".

            'You're delusional!'

            'This from the guy who's arguing with a voice in his head?!' "It" raised a mental eyebrow. 'Besides, you know it's true.'

            'And how do you figure that?' "It" snorted.

            'Easy enough. You're always staring at him—'

            'Do you see the amount of fire-power he carries?!' Hiiro interrupted. 'You have to keep an eye on him for your own safety!'

            '—You learned English right after you met him—'

            'He's American! It was a means of communication!' "It" glared at Hiiro before continuing.

            'He was already fluent in Japanese, moron…' Hiiro gave it a glare of his own. It decided to ignore the glare, and continue. 'Then there was that outfit today…or did you just _plan_ to wear an outfit that just screamed "take me, I'm yours!" for the hell of it?'

            'Oh, stuff it!' It snorted again.

            'I guarantee that would hurt you a _lot_ more than it would me.' Hiiro gave a final mental glare before noticing that everyone was staring at him.

            'Oh, shit!'

            "Sorry, guys…" K just shook his head and smiled.

            'When is he _not_ smiling?'

            'I thought I told you to shut up.' It decided to wisely remain silent.

            "It's fine, Nakano-san. But next time you decide to let your mind wander, send us the forwarding address." Hiiro ducked his head and blushed.

            "Hai…gomen…" He began to finger the strings for a few moments. Nodding to K, he began, only to almost drop the guitar as K joined in with the vocals.

            'No one should have a voice that beautiful!' It literally sent shivers down his spine. Hiiro almost broke into the chorus for a third time—just to prolong the song and bask in that voice.

            As the song wound to an end, Hiiro felt K's eyes on him, but refused to look up towards the gunman.

            "Wow, Hiiro!!!! K-saaaaaaaaan!! You've _got_ to do this song! It was perfect!!" Shuichi went into ultra-genki mode, causing K's gun-hand to twitch…again…

            "Oi, Shuichi! Calm down!" Hiiro barked, feeling the return of his seemingly never-ending headache.

            "Eh? G-gomen, Hiiro." Hiiro cursed himself, realizing he had hurt the singer's feelings. It wasn't that Shuichi was annoying, it was just the fact that the ultra-genki got old after a while—especially when you had to deal with all the mood-swings that Shuichi had been going through while going out with that bastard Yuki.

            'I'm sure his parents were legitimately married,' It commented dryly. Hiiro stifled a groan. It ignored him. 'Besides, you only think he's a bastard because he had the guts to do what you always wanted to do, but never went through with.' Having enough, Hiiro decided to stand and go for something to drink, but first he needed to apologize.

            "Gomen, Shuichi. I was too harsh." At Shuichi's cheerful nod, Hiiro continued. "Anyways, I need to get a drink; I'll be right back." But as he moved, he started to feel  dizzy.

            'Got up to fast…damn!' He started to fall forward, only to be caught in a pair of strong arms.

            'N-nani?!'

            "Careful, Nakano-san," he heard K say in English, concern plain in his voice.

            "A-arigatou, Mr. K," Hiiro replied, blushing faintly. He, as dignified as the circumstances would allow him to be, righted himself and—'

            'What that a _sigh_ I just heard from K?! God, Hiiro…you need to lay off the caffeine; it's starting to mess with your mind.'

            "No problem, Nakano-san," K stated.

            'Hiiro,' Hiiro's mind corrected. 'Call me Hiiro.' Telling his thoughts to take a flying leap, Hiiro nodded before rushing off for the nearest drinking fountain. Reaching it, he puts his head against the wall.

            'God…it's getting worse. I can't even _look_ at him anymore without blushing. I'm starting to see exactly _what_ Shuichi went through with Yuki Eiri, although K isn't a heartless bastard. But he's just as unapproachable.'

            'You haven't even _tried_ though! And I _still_ think Yuki's parents were married!' It, for all it was nettling me, sounded somewhat sympathetic—for once.

            'He's _married_! With a _kid_! Which translates into _straight_ and _taken_!' It said nothing in reply, but then, what _could_ it say? The manager of Bad Luck was taken, if not straight. Hiiro sighed and proceeded to walk back to the studio. To his surprise, K stood outside the door.

            "Nakano-san," he began, although Hiiro could tell he was nervous about something. "Are you all right? You haven't seemed to be yourself for the past few days…" Hiiro stared at K, mind searching for a viable excuse.

            "Ayaka-chan and I broke up," he said finally. "I guess it hit me harder than I thought." K nodded, seeming to accept the story.

            'But then, with Shuichi in the band, how can he _not_?'

            "Considering who we have in Bad Luck," K said, seeming to mirror Hiiro's thoughts. "I suppose that that would be an excuse I'd normally accept. However," he paused, and Hiiro felt his stomach knot up. "you have never been affected by things like that in all the time I've know you—"

            "Which is all of two years," Hiiro interrupted. "Maybe you don't know me as well as you thought." Hurt flashed through K's eyes, and Hiiro wished with all his being that he could take the words back.

            'Nice going…' It said with dark sarcasm.

            'Who asked you?!' Hiiro replied.

            "Maybe I don't," K answered slowly, moving away from the door. Hiiro moved past him into the room, heart sinking lower with every step.

~~ooO@Ooo~~

Owari for now!! Just a few things to note, the first of which being that I like Shuichi and Yuki a great deal, but their relationship is from Hiiro and K's perspectives in this fic, therefore it'll be a little skewed because Shuichi isn't going to share _everything_ that goes on (and Yuki sure as hell wouldn't!). I'll do my best to update again soon, but I make no promises…writer's block strikes again. Ja na!

Thank you's:

toriko: Thanks again!! Of course he's giving into Hiiro! He wuvs Hiiro-chan!! *glomps Hiiro and K* Anyways, the song is "Anti-Nostalgic", which is actually a Kotani Kinya song…eh heh…Oh well, just imagine the vocals deeper.

icediamond: Thanks! Sorry for a wishy-washy K with the singing, but there'll be more fights, and K _will_ win—at least one…

Ju: Thanks!! *passes Ju a anti-fruit and other stuff shield* Yeah, Hiiro kinda grows on you after a while (or not, depending on you viewpoint). I'm glad you gave my fic a chance though!!

doujin: Thanks! Yep, K singing…but not often…and only for his Hiiro *wink* Yeah, I have a friend who all she has to do is turn the puppy-eyes on me, and I find myself agreeing to whatever she wants…*sweatdrops*

Tigre MoonStorme: Thanks again!! I'm glad you loved the chappie! I hope this one was more K/Hiiro goodness…although it ended on a not-so-good note…hm…wonder if Ju is willing to share that shield…

RayRay: Thanks! I'm glad I found another K/Hiiro fan!! I'm sorry for the short chappies! I'll try to get longer and more frequent updates! I really will!!

BethBeth: Thanks!! Glad you liked it! I'll try to write more soon!

PetraFina: Thanks again! You never know what a fed-up K will do…*wink* Shy schoolgirl with a huge crush…yep, that about sums it up. Do I write my characters too girly?

Eriol-sama: Thanks again!! I hope y'all are still with me! Glad you like it so far!!

MinaXP: Thanks! Glad you like the fic! I'll do my best to update and everything soon, k?

Kage Chikara: Thanks!! Oh dear…yeah, it is short…I'm still a little new to writing for ff.net, so I'm working on longer chapters…I think this one is the longest one yet…which is sad…But beyond that, I'm glad you like my K! I'm still a little unsure of if I'm doing Hiiro and Shuichi right…not to mention Suguru…

Cobalt Violet: Thanks again! Glad you like the whole K singing to Hiiro thing! Yeah!! I'd love to!! I realize that I'm super-slow in responding…*cries* But I'd love to! Lemme know where to send it (in case you want it sent to a separate email *smile*)


	5. Lunch and Reflection

**Notes:** Ok…it's been a bit…but I got an inspiration for the next chapter. Some of the information here (likes/dislikes, etc. is fabricated). Oh! And I wanted to make sure y'all were aware of the fact that this is based on the anime, _not_ the manga. I started it when the manga wasn't even a thought over here except to us avid scanslation fans.

**Warnings:** Shounen ai/yaoi…it's Gravi, people…if you've seen it, then I shouldn't have to warn you.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own it.

**Dedication:** This chapter is dedicated to Kloudy Reignfall because of a review that basically kicked my ass into gear. It struck a chord that day (that and the fact that one of my friends told me to continue under pain of death), so I'm chiseling my way through the block as best I can.

Of Guns and Guitars  
By Rosethorn

Chapter 5: Lunch and Reflection

Crawd watched Hiiro make his way back into the studio. He felt as though he had just been sucker-punched, his insides kicked out. What Hiiro had said _hurt_, damn it! But who was he to argue with the guitarist's logic. How well did he, in reality, _know_ Nakano Hiroshi?

'Well enough,' "it" told him. He tried not to groan aloud.

'Terrific,' he thought sourly. 'I'm starting to hear things…A sign of insanity, maybe?' It snorts.

'You were already very much insane before I _ever_ came on the scene, buddy. Don't try to push that one on me!' Crawd mentally rolled his eyes as he made his way back towards the studio door.

'Does this conversation have a point?' he drawled.

'Yes, it does, if you'd stop interrupting,' It shot back, bristling. Crawd hid a smile and slowly opened the door to be greeted with…utter and complete chaos. The blonde blinked a few times behind sunglasses, trying to process the scene before him.

"How on earth did you manage to get Shindou-san duct-taped to the ceiling?" he asked, calm voice belying the absolute confusion he felt. It managed to stop all activity in the room however, as a calm Crawd tended to be more dangerous than an angry Crawd…and a calm, cheerful Crawd was the most dangerous of them all. Suguru decided that it was time for a strategic bathroom retreat—until a bullet near-missed his nose on the way out. He quickly made his way back to the synthesizer. Hiro's eyes grew wide at the site of a gun barrel staring him down.

"Mr. K," he said slowly. "It would not help your cause if you killed all of the members of the band." Crawd blinked once…twice before he dropped the gun and laughed. Instead of calming them, the laughter made even Shuichi (who had torn at the tape with his hands, successfully releasing himself), flee for the door as fast as his feet could carry him. Hiro stopped at the door however, when he heard Crawd's laughter increase, but not in the hysterical, maniacal way he was accustomed to.

'His laughter is music in and of itself,' he thought to himself, leaning on the doorframe. 'So he really wasn't going to do anything…Heh, never could say, "take the day off",' the brunette reflected fondly. Crawd had finally finished laughing at the hilarity of the situation and, sensing eyes on him, slowly turned to meet the amused face of one Nakano Hiroshi. He swallowed at the sight of the guitarist's brown eyes that, while warm, felt like they pierced to his very soul.

For his part, Hiro found it hard to breathe at the sight of Crawd's bright blue eyes regarding _him_. The blonde's sunglasses had fallen towards the end of his nose, exposing the brilliant blue eyes that the gunman normally hid. He swallowed nervously, taking in the sight of the 6'2" American as though he had never seen the man before. He noted (with great amounts of mental drooling), the way the manager's long, blonde hair looked in the artificial light. He wondered absently if it would look like spun gold in the sun.

"I would have thought you'd be running quickly behind Shindou-san, Nakano-san," Crawd said finally, breaking the silence. Hiro grinned.

"Nah, decided to hang here and make sure that Seguchi-san doesn't need to have people come to patch bullet holes in here—again." Crawd began to chuckle again, Hiro joining in.

'This is…nice,' Crawd thought to himself, glancing over to where his charge was standing. He then noticed the clock residing on the wall above the guitarist's head. 'Shit! It's four already? No wonder my brain's not working!'

"Ne, Nakano-san?" he asked. Hiro stared at him, somewhat surprised. "Would you like to go somewhere for lunch?" He gestured to the clock. Hiro ducked inside the room briefly to look at what time it had become.

"Wouldn't it be more like dinner, Mr. K?" he corrected, grinning at the blonde. Before Crawd could formulate a response, the brunette nodded before asking, "And where are we eating?" Crawd's head tilted slightly, pondering over their choices.

"What about that American place right down the street?" he asked, leaning against the wall. Hiro's eyes widened slightly and he tried not to drool over the chest that was hinted at through the shirt as it was pulled taut.

"Um…sure," the guitarist replied, mind trying valiantly to pull itself away from the rather…"distracting" imagery that his manager made at the moment. He violently told his hormones to stand _down_ (along with a few other things…), and concentrated on what Crawd was saying…though his gaze still kept shifting to the gunman's lips.

"Well shall we then?" Crawd said, the question posed in English, betraying his nervousness. He cursed inwardly at his stupidity before remembering that Hiro was fluent in the language—though it was odd that Touma was under the impression that none of Bad Luck could speak more than a few broken sentences. He quickly told his mind to focus on the task at hand, and forced himself to smile. Hiro smiled in answer and nodded his assent.

"We shall," he replied in nearly accent less English. They both walked out of the studio towards the restaurant, both trying to ignore the little voice in the back of their heads that screamed for more contact. Along the way, one of Hiro's questions was answered; the gunman's hair _did_ look like spun gold when the sun hit it.

Crawd flopped down onto his couch, bottle of beer in hand. He frowned at the bottle—glared actually. He had been drinking _far_ too much for his liking—about once a week. Just enough to get him to sleep at night. It still was however, too much in his opinion. A drunk or hung-over gunman was one that could kill someone. Sighing, he stood back up and put the bottle back in the fridge. He was trigger-happy enough as it was. He didn't actually want to _hurt_ anyone. For all he threatened (and shot at) people, he was always careful to not hit them. He had done enough of that in the Secret Service, thank you.

He flopped back down on his couch once again, and allowed his thoughts to drift to the cause of his sleeping problems. One Nakano Hiroshi who he had enjoyed an absolutely wonderful lunch/dinner with earlier. They had ended up going to a karaoke bar—somehow the guitarist had talked him into it. There, they sat back, joked, and watched the _horrible _singers on the stage. In truth, it was almost like a date—though Crawd knew full well that Hiro was _not_ interested. The brunette had spent a lot of time ogling some of the more attractive female singers—though he was wincing at the quality of their voices.

Crawd took great delight in watching the expressions play over the other man's face. Hiro very rarely allowed much in the way of expression to come out. Well, most any expression besides anger and happiness. Normally, the guitarist would wear a—oftentimes _irritatingly_—calm expression on his face. Crawd had supposed that it came from being around the bundle of energy that they had for their lead singer. Shuichi's emotions were enough of a roller coaster that any close friend would have to keep a calm façade in place—or find themselves _very_ overwhelmed. Hiro often joked that he now knew what Japan felt like when a tsunami hit it.

The blonde sighed again. He had given up getting any decent sleep that night because his thoughts were too active…his mind too restless. His thoughts drifted to the outfit that the guitarist had been wearing that day—oh God.

'Whoever made him buy those clothes…' He had spent the rest of the day trying _not_ to drool on the floor at the vantage point of the brunette's ass when the man bent over to retrieve his pick. Those pants had clung like a second skin. And they were leather—Crawd would stake his reputation on that. Hiro had definitely gotten attention at the bar in that outfit. Crawd had to keep himself from shooting half the people for coming over and flirting.

'Dammit all! It's isn't _fair_!' he moaned internally. 'Why can't I just be happy with what I have? I mean, I have a loving, beautiful wife—'

'Who when you see her, fight with her more often than not. Not to mention she's already _told_ you about her affair with her bodyguard…' "it" said, making another—very sarcastic—appearance. Crawd mentally glared at it.

'Figures. I can't even sleep to drown you out!'

'Sucks to be you, doesn't it?' it replied smugly.

'So now I've got a crush on someone at least ten years younger than I am, an annoying voice in my head—'

'An annoying voice? You should see someone about that…I've heard those kinds of voices lead to insanity…' it drawled. Crawd very forcefully told "it" where it could go. He heard the voice harrumph before retreating entirely.

'At last,' he thought to (hopefully) himself. 'Peace and quiet.' Which left his mind back at the problem of Nakano Hiroshi. He knew that Hiro wasn't interested. Well, he was at least 98 sure. First, Hiro had given the impression (to him, at least), that he was very much straight. Second, there was Ayaka to consider. Crawd had met the girl once. In fact, she was responsible for Hiro not quitting Bad Luck (for which Crawd wanted to worship at her feet in thanks). He was then told by Hiro that Ayaka was his new girlfriend—which made him want to riddle her with bullet-holes instead. Hell, it was all he could do to not cheer when Hiro told him that the girl had broken up with him! So even if Hiro _was_ interested, Crawd couldn't do anything because the guitarist would be on the rebound. _Damn_ it! Groaning, Crawd placed his head into his hands.

'Why did I ask that voice to leave?'

oOOo()oOOo

That's it for this chapter! I hope that it's a fairly good one. Yes, I'm still blocked, so delays may abound, but…I'll try to get stuff out as I can…

**Thank you's:**

**PetraFina:** Thanks! Glad to hear that I don't do girly. Good. Because I'm sorry, K strikes me as a "manly" man…not a flamer. Oh God. Just got the funniest image of K with a lisp and all that…::laughs hysterically:: Ok. I'm better now.

**Darkflare:** Thanks!! No bowing!! Please!! I'm not _that_ good! ::blushes::

**HappyKistune99:** Thanks! I'm glad you like the story and I hope that the K/Hiro pairing lives on!!

**Sara:** Thanks!! Glad I'm making somewhat entertaining! Hope I haven't lost you yet…

**Kloudy Reignfall:** Thanks! If you haven't look at the AN at the top…and the dedication…::nudge:: please do so. That said, I CONTINUED A CHAPTER! ::laughs:: Anyways, I still have the damn block, but I _am_ trying to get it written.


End file.
